The restoration of a handsome terrace of late-Regency, early-Georgian townhouses on Lower Leeson Street at the corner of Burlington Road was an ambitious project – a joint venture between Howard Holdings and the Neil Monahan family, of the Doyle hotels family.
PV Doyle bought the terrace in the 1970s and the houses were in need of renovation. In 2005, after three years of extensive work, the newly and rather grandiosely named Elysium Terrace went on sale with a lavish launch of a mixture of meticulously restored period townhouses and apartments – eight in all.
A striking looking modern extension was built to the rear of each house - these were first offered for sale for up to €4 million – while the apartments were located in the basements at €1 million each.
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The owners of number 100 Lower Leeson Street – the Elysium part tends to be dropped in these more pragmatic times – were early buyers and have lived here for 10 years. They are now downsizing and selling their four-bedroom terraced house through Ganly Walters for €2 million.
Tall granite steps lead up to the entrance, and the house is laid out over three floors. There are four double bedrooms, two at hall floor level, one in the extension at the rear and a vast master bedroom with an en suite bathroom taking up the entire top floor. The middle floor is made up of the two gracious reception rooms with all the grandeur that houses of this period have to offer – superb proportions, great space, high ceilings and tall sash windows.
There are two staircases – the original and a new walnut one in the brick-finished extension which is accessed from a door at the rear of the kitchen in the return, and also at entrance hall level.
This extension made room for the ground-floor bedroom, and a small room at the top used in this house as a home office and which opens on to a small roof terrace.
Changing the terrace into duplexes affected the outdoor space. Number 100 has a long garden to the front and there is a communal courtyard to the rear. Parking is on-street – the residents of this house park on Burlington Road and access the rear of their house via a covered walkway. Annual management fees run to about €3,000.
These houses require a particular buyer: they are probably not for families with small children who want access to their own garden from their kitchen, or for others who are not fond of the duplex idea. This will appeal to buyers looking for a superbly located, beautifully proportioned, easily managed but grand period home. Next door, number 99 came on the market in 2014 for €1.9 million. It sold late last year for around €1.6 million.
